By Own Correspondent

THE Stanchart - FBC deal has spilled over to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) following the application by the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Unions (ZIBAWU) move to give notification for the convening of a peaceful demonstration for the second time.

This follows Stanchart’s decision to divest from a few markets, namely Lebanon, Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Jordan, and to exit the CPBB (Consumer Private and Business Banking) business in Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania.

FBCH has since completed the acquisition after acquiring a 100% shareholding in Stanchart and by extension, the custodial services business that is wholly owned by Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe.

Against the backdrop, ZIBAWU has been at loggerheads with the exiting Stanchart employer alleging the institution’s workers were given a raw deal.

The workers group says numerous attempts to get an audience with the exiting employer were fruitless.

This week alone, the ZRP turned down the union’s request to stage a demo at the UK embassy, instead directing the union to approach the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

However, ZIBAWU has, through its legal practitioners Makururu and Partners, written to the Officer Commanding Police Harare Suburban District notifying the intention to hold the demonstration.

“At the instance of our client, Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers Union, a registered trade union in terms of the laws of Zimbabwe, we have been instructed to formally notify you regarding an upcoming demonstration that will be held in accordance with the provisions of the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act and section 59 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” says the letter in part.

The date set for the demonstration in the letter  was  June 14 2024 between 12 and 2pm with the intention to demonstrate and petition the United Kingdom Ambassador regarding the ‘dehumanizing and colonial treatment’ of Standard Chartered Bank workers.

The chief and deputy conveners are Peter Gift Mutasa and Shepherd Ngandu respectively.

“We are also advised that the demonstration will take place outside the embassy and not inside the embassy in terms of MOPA and the Constitution. Therefore, our clients will comply with the relevant provisions of the law,” added the letter.